Living in Costa Rica during Corona Virus

Hello All,

I hope that everyone is safe and well and staying home as much as possible.

We have been doing our part to flatten the curve and I have to admit the boredom has been taking it’s toll on me. In comparison to the challenges faced by generations before us (war, plague, recession, depression) , the call to stay in the comfort of our own home…with our TV’s and internet and cupboards full of food…makes it hard to feel sorry for myself for very long.

I’ve always told myself that if I ever had the time I would write a book but I can’t seem to get myself into that headspace. Perhaps it’s the distraction provided by a bored Captain Chris who occasionally dances past . Yup…dances.

We have spent the majority of our time binge-watching Netflix or listening to playlists on Spotify (hence the dancing). I do some artwork in the mornings. Chris does some baking or experiments with new recipes. There’s a fairly good chance that I’m going to come out of this looking like Aunt Marge in The Prisoner of Azkaban (all you fellow Potterheads will know what I mean).

All in all, we are safe and healthy….it’s only my mind that is bouncing off the walls and muttering to itself.

Perhaps its the worry that’s getting to it. Not for ourselves…I am actually very impressed with the response of the Costa Rican government during the crisis. They are doing everything they possibly can to flatten that curve and in comparison to many countries they are succeeding very well.

I am worried about my beautiful daughters. The eldest, Sierra is on the frontlines as a PSW (until school opens and her graduation from nursing school is complete). There aren’t any cases in her facility so far, Thank God but if gets in, its bound to spread through it like wildfire.

Shaelynn is a restaurant worker. I’m glad that most of the restaurants are take-out only now but there is always the potential of contact with an infected customer even with that.

I know they are young and healthy but I also know that if they get infected and sick…I won’t be able to come and see them or help them. It makes you feel really powerless as a mother.

Speaking of mother’s….mine still goes out every day for a walk in town. She tells me that she goes out during slow times of day and that she needs the exercise. I can’t convince her to stay home…she gets stircrazy way faster than I do. I need to find a way to deliver a month’s supply of harlequin romances and chocolate….that might work. She is 79 years old and too stubborn for her own good.

As for life here in Costa Rica during Corona Virus, I have watched the benevolent recommendations swiftly become strict restrictions as people continued to ignore them. When vacationers from around the world continued to flow into the country…the country closed down tourism. When people continued to congregate in large groups at the beaches…they were closed too.

People were willing to (mostly) stay home but kept visiting the pools and parks in large groups (in small communities like ours, we think they could have scheduled pool time and allowed us to use it, but…) they closed those down too. Better safe than sorry. Schools and all non-essential businesses are closed. They allowed restaurants to remain open for a while…until people congregated in groups there.

It’s like dealing with a huge group of teenagers really. They tried to give us a bit of space but many people just couldn’t resist pushing the boundaries and looking for loopholes. Eventually they realized that they were going to have to ground us all to make us listen (which is relatively ridiculous when you consider that the government is more concerned with our health than we are in many cases).

Samana Santa is generally recognized as the busiest week of the year here because as a catholic country, Easter is a really big deal. It lasts for a week and is celebrated with large gatherings, family get-togethers and parties. Obviously there was cause for concern…after all, many MANY people have been ignoring recommendations not to travel and not to congregate, there wasn’t a lot of faith in the idea that they would listen when that would go against all the regular traditional events and practices… so ‘DAD’ took away the car keys.

This week they started restricting travel. No one aside from emergency services are allowed on the roads after 5 pm now. Travel by car is regulated by allowing people three days a week each according to the last digit of their licence plate. (the idea being that it reduces the traffic by about a third at any given time and fewer people on the road should naturally lead to fewer people in the stores).

It’s a little crazy to think that people don’t all understand the need for self-isolation, and that we can’t regulate ourselves to save ourselves the possibility of dying….but there it is…some of us just CAN’T.

Even with all the people ignoring the recommendations and fighting against the rules, Costa Rica has way fewer cases of the virus that MOST countries thanks to a quick response to the threat and a fast realization of the above fact.

Yes.. it IS boring. Yes…I would rather be enjoying my normal routine. Is it worth potentially causing the death of 2% of the population? Nope.

So I will spend my days getting fat and being lazy and be glad that my children haven’t been called off to war. I will remind myself daily that I have everything my body needs to survive right here at home where many people don’t…and never have.

I will take the time to keep in touch with my friends and family from a safe distance, and to offer what support I can while they struggle to stay healthy.

…and I will wait for the day when the curve is flat and we emerge once more into the sunshine…and appreciate it all the more because of the struggle.

In the meantime, I think there is a bag of popcorn and an episode of …Supernatural calling my name.

Take care of yourselves!

We will see you on the other side.